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Morocco Geography 1996

Location:

Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Western Sahara

Map references:

Africa

Area:

total area:

446,550 sq km

land area:

446,300 sq km

comparative area:

slightly larger than California

Land boundaries:

total 2,002 km, Algeria 1,559 km, Western Sahara 443 km

Coastline:

1,835 km

Maritime claims:

contiguous zone:

24 nm

continental shelf:

200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

exclusive economic zone:

200 nm

territorial sea:

12 nm

International disputes:

claims and administers Western Sahara, but sovereignty is unresolved; the UN is attempting to hold a referendum; the UN-administered cease-fire has been currently in effect since September 1991; Spain controls five places of sovereignty (plazas de soberania) on and off the coast of Morocco - the coastal enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla which Morocco contests as well as the islands of Penon de Alhucemas, Penon de Velez de la Gomera, and Islas Chafarinas

Climate:

Mediterranean, becoming more extreme in the interior

Terrain:

northern coast and interior are mountainous with large areas of bordering plateaus, intermontane valleys, and rich coastal plains

Natural resources:

phosphates, iron ore, manganese, lead, zinc, fish, salt

Land use:

arable land:

18%

permanent crops:

meadows and pastures:

28%

forest and woodland:

12%

other:

41%

Irrigated land:

12,650 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:

current issues:

land degradation/desertification (soil erosion resulting from farming of marginal areas, overgrazing, destruction of vegetation); water supplies contaminated by raw sewage; siltation of reservoirs; oil pollution of coastal waters

natural hazards:

northern mountains geologically unstable and subject to earthquakes; periodic droughts

international agreements:

party to - Endangered Species, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection

Note:

strategic location along Strait of Gibraltar

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